## Tur HaArokh, Exodus

###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:1:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:1:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/4:1:1)

**ויען משה ויאמר והן לא יאמינו לי.**איתא בב"ר באותה שעה דיבר משה שלא כהוגן הקב"ה אמר לו ושמעו לקולך והוא אומר והן לא יאמינו לי מיד השיבו הקב"ה בשעתו ונתן לו אותות. ור' אברהם אמר על דרך הפשט הקב"ה אמר לו ושמעו לקולך על הזקנים אבל לא אמר שיאמינו שאר העם או שאמר שישמעו לקולו ואולי לא יאמינוהו בלב. והרמב"ן פי' שיתכן ששמעו לקולך אינו הבטחה שישמעו אלא צואה ושמעו לקולך פי' ראוי להם שישמעו לך ותבוא אתה וזקני ישראל אל מלך מצרים וכן ושמעו מצרים ואמרו אל יושב הארץ ראוי שיהי' ככה וכמוהו רבים. אי נמי אמר לו ושמעו לקולך לבא למלך מצרים ולאמר לו אלהי העברים נקרא עלינו כי מה יפסידו בזה והנה הודיעו כי לא יתן אותם מלך מצרים להלוך ועל כן אמר משה והן לא יאמינו לי כי אחר ראותם כי לא יתנם פרעה להלוך לא ישמעו לקולי כי יאמרו אלי אלו היית שליח השם לא ימרה פרעה את פיך. אי נמי פי' לא נראה אליך ה' הגדול במדת רחמים כאשר אמרת לעשות לנו אותות ומופתים כי אינך גדול מן האבות ולכך לא שמע אליך פרעה שאלו הי' כדבריך היינו יוצאים עכ"פ ואין עונותינו מבדילין בינינו ובין הרחמים. אי נמי מה שאמר והן לא יאמינו לי לא שמסתפק אולי לא יאמינו אלא ששאל אות כדרך כל המשתלחים כאלו הי' הולך אל עם אשר לא יאמינו אבל לעולם כיון שאמר ושמעו לקולך ידע שישמעו:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ויען משה ויאמר והן לא יאמינו לי, Moses answered saying: “but they will not believe me, etc.” According to *Shemot Rabbah* 3,12 Moses sinned in the manner in which he spoke to G’d at this point, seeing that he contradicted G’d Who had told him that the people would listen to what he had to say (3,18). G’d responded to Moses in the manner in which he had spoken to G’d. He asked him what he had in his hand, i.e *mazeh beyadcha?* When Moses replied that he had a staff in his hand, G’d turned the staff into a snake to show Moses that his answer had been quite wrong. G’d demonstrated that by reading the letters מזה not as “*mazeh*,” “what is this?” but as “*mizeh*” “with this,” that He would provide him with a means by which to make the Israelites believe him. (the *Midrash*, according to *Mahar’zu,* appears to imply that the need to employ miracles in order to make the Israelites believe that Moses was not an impostor was held as a sin against Moses, not against them.)
 Ibn Ezra, approaching the text as being quite plain, and Moses’ reply as being in order, writes that when G’d had said to Moses that the Israelites would listen to him, (3,18) He had spoken of the elders to whom Moses would have to identify himself in the first place. When Moses now said that the Israelites would not believe him, he did not refer to the elders, but to the masses of the Jewish people. He may also have referred to their having unspoken reservations in their hearts, disbelief they would not dare to voice at that time.
 Nachmanides explains that Moses meant that it is entirely possible that the words in ושמעו לקולך in 3,18 were not to be understood as an assurance, but as a command, a directive to Moses to make sure that the people would take him seriously, would believe what he had come to tell them. 3,18 is immediately followed by G’d Himself telling Moses that the elders following him notwithstanding, Pharaoh will turn a deaf ear to their mission. In other words, G’d had never promised immediate success at all. Moses was therefore entitled to point out additional factors which would make his mission difficult in the extreme. There are numerous instances in the Scriptures where the meaning of such words as ושמעו, or ואמרו, is not a prediction of what will happen but an assessment of what ought to happen.
 It is also possible that in 3,18 G’d had only meant that the elders would be willing, on the strength of Moses having identified himself, to go for an interview before Pharaoh with him, and to tell him that their G’d had instructed them to ask for a three day furlough to offer sacrifices to Him. After all, in their own estimation, what did they have to lose by going along? G’d had already told them that the mission would not be successful. (3,19) Moses therefore was quite correct in saying that after the interview with Pharaoh, also attended by the elders, had failed to produce the desired results, the masses of the people would not believe in him as their saviour. They would argue that if he had truly been a messenger from G’d he would have been successful.
 Another approach to the subject could be that what the people would refuse to believe would be Moses’ claim to have been privy to the instructions of G’d in His attribute as *Hashem*, the attribute of Mercy, rather than having received instructions from *elokim,* the attribute of *shaddai,* that was known to them but had not produced relief from their sorry condition. They would refuse to see in him a prophet with greater powers than the patriarchs who had not been known as miracle workers. No wonder, they would say, that Pharaoh was not impressed by him. They would argue that their sorry state was not due to their sins, for as far as their sins were concerned these would not form an impassable barrier between them and G’d’s attribute of Mercy.
 Yet another way of understanding our verse is that Moses simply meant that the Israelites would not believe him unless he could produce some kind of miracle to convince them that he had not lied. There was no suggestion that Moses did not accept G’d’s statement that the people would listen to him. .


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:3:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:3:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/4:3:1)

**ויאמר השליכהו ארצה ויהי לנחש.**כתב הרמב"ן לא הבינותי למה עשה אלו האותות לפני משה כי משה מאמין הי' וראוי הי' שיאמר המטה אשר בידך השליכהו ארצה לפניהם והי' לנחש וכן באות השני כאשר עשה באות השלישי ולקח ממימי היאור ולכן דרשו רבותינו שהי' לו האות הראשון סימן שסיפר לשון הרע וראוי להענישו ופחד וברח מפניו וזהו טעם וינס משה מפניו כי פחד שמא יענישוהו וישכהו הנחש וכן הצרעת להענישו עד שאמר לו הקב"ה שלח ידך ואחוז בזנבו אז נתחזק ושלח ידו והחזיק בו כדכתי' ויחזק בו כי החזקה גדולה מן האחיזה. וי"מ אות הנחש הי' משל לפרעה דכתיב התנין הגדול ומתחלה הי' רך כמו מטה ואחר כך נהפך להיות קשה וחזר להיות מטה שחזר פרעה כאלו לא הי' ולא יצא מידו עד שהשביעו וברח משה מפניו כדכתיב ויברח משה מפני פרעה:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ויאמר השליכהו ארצה ויהי לנחש, “He said: ‘throw it to the ground so that it will turn into a serpent.” Nachmanides has trouble understanding the need for G’d to perform these miracles in front of Moses, seeing Moses had not been a doubter here. In his (preliminary) view it would have been more appropriate for G’d to tell Moses to perform this very miracle in front of the Jewish people, as He did with the third miracle the turning of water into blood. It is considerations such as these which prompted our sages to say that Moses was meant to consider the first miracle here as a personal rebuke for having spoken badly of the Jewish people, for having accused them of lack of faith. He was to realize that he deserved to be punished, and this is also why he reacted in fear, fleeing from the serpent. He considered it entirely possible that this snake would bite him as a penalty for badmouthing his people. The same applies to his hand turning leprous; this too was to remind him that the affliction known as *tzoraat* is in the main reserved for people who were derelict in their relationship with their fellow human beings, in particular by speaking badly about them. Their forced stay in isolation would bring this home to them even more forcefully. Moses did not recover from his fright until G’d told him to grab the snake by its tail. Moses is then described not as taking hold of the snake’s tail merely, as G’d had instructed, by אחיזה, a somewhat tenuous hold on things, but the Torah uses the word ויחזק בו, “he took a firm hold of it.”
 Some commentators claim that the miracle of the staff was a demonstration by means of a simile, that the great Pharaoh whose career had started out as a malleable human being, something similar to a pliable staff, had then become hard as a תנין הגדול, a great sea-monster, only to become all soft again, none of his powers remaining, his glory having vanished into thin air. When Pharaoh had turned “tough” on him after he had killed the Egyptian, Moses had already fled from him, as we read in The miracle of the staff would reassure Moses that he no longer had anything to fear from him.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:4:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:4:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/4:4:1)

**שלח ידך ואחוז בזנבו.**פי' אחיזה בעלמא והוא לא יכול כי הנחש רצה לישמט מידו עד שהחזיק בו וזה סימן שמשה חשב כאשר יבוא למצרים כי מיד ישלחם ולא שילחם עד שחזק עליו נגעים גדולים והאות השני כנגד כל ישראל שהיו טמאים בגילול מצרים הראה לו שיחזירו בתשובה כידו שחיתה מצרעתה. וי"מ שהוא סימן לישראל שהיו חופשים ונגעם השם בעבודת פרך והוא ירפאם וישובו חופשים:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
שלח ידך ואחוז בזנבו, “extend your arm and take hold of it by its tail!” This means simply to establish physical contact, not that Moses would thereby control the snake’s movement, as the snake will attempt to wriggle free. This is why the Torah reports Moses as ויחזק בו, “he took firm hold of it.” This demonstrates that Moses had thought that as soon as he would get to Egypt Pharaoh would release the Israelites immediately, that there would be no attempt on his part to wriggle out of the demands made upon him. The redemption would not occur until strong-armed measures, such as Moses employed to control the movements of the snake would be employed. The second miracle would be performed in the presence of the assembled people who were mired in spiritual pollution absorbed through their being part of the Egyptian culture. G’d demonstrated by means of that miracle [the healing of an affliction considered incurable, Ed.] that the Israelites would become penitents and thus fit for redemption.
 Some commentators understand the meaning of that miracle to be that just as the Israelites who were free men when they came to Egypt had been afflicted by G’d so that they had become slaves, they would once more be able to regain their former freedom thanks to the same G’d Who had caused them to become afflicted in the first place.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:5:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:5:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/4:5:1)

**למען יאמינו כי נראה אליך ה'.**פי' בעשותך כן לפניהם ומקצר הפסוק בזה כי ידוע שעל מנת כן נעשה שיעשה לפניהם ויאמינו בו:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
למען יאמינו כי נראה אליך ה', “in order that they will believe that the Lord, (attribute of Mercy) G’d of your fathers has indeed appeared to you.” The Torah refers to the demonstration of this miracle, the verse being an abbreviation, seeing that it was quite understood that this was to be the purpose of the miracle.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:8:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:8:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/4:8:1)

**והי' אם לא יאמינו.**כתב ר' אברהם ידענו כי השם ידע אם יאמינו אם לא יאמינו רק הכתוב דיבר כנגד משה שאם יהי' מקצת ישראל שלא יאמינו לאות הראשון יאמינו לאות האחרון והכתוב אומר לקול ואין לו קול רק דיברה תורה כלשון בני אדם ואמר לקול האות האחרון אע"פ שיש שם שלישי בעבור שעדיין לא הראהו רק ב' אותות והי' אם יהיו עוד שלא יאמינו תעשה אות שלישי ויאמינו כדכתיב ויעש האותות לעיני העם ויאמן העם כי פקד:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
והיה אם לא יאמינו, “in the event that they will not believe you, etc.” Ibn Ezra writes that seeing that we know full well whether or not the Israelites would believe Moses’ claim to be the redeemer appointed by G’d, it is clear that this verse was addressed only to Moses, to tell him that in the event that some of the people would not believe that Moses was the chosen redeemer after having seen the first miracle, the second miracle would convince also these doubters. 
 As to the Torah describing the reaction of the people to the miracle as a קול האות, a miracle with an audible impact, rather than as it having a visual impact, this is an example of what Rabbi Yishmael had described as the Torah employing a syntax familiar to the common people. Furthermore, as to the Torah describing the second miracle as אות האחרון, “the last miracle,” when in fact it would be followed by a third miracle, the reason is that as of that point in time only two miracles had been demonstrated to Moses. The verse hints that if after two miracles there would still be doubters, a third miracle would be performed which would silence the remaining doubters. As a matter of fact, in due course, Moses performed these miracles, and the people all believed that he was the chosen redeemer. (verses 30-31)


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:9:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:9:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/4:9:1)

**והיו המים אשר תקח מן היאור.**אע"פ שאמר ולקחת ממימי היאור חזר ואמר והיו המים אשר תקח מן היאור לומר שלא תקחם מן הכלי אלא מן היאור:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
והיו המים אשר תקח מן היאור והיו לדם ביבשת, “and it will be that the waters which you will take from the river will turn into blood on the dry land.” Even though G’d had already told Moses that he was to take water from the river,ולקחת ממימי היאור, He repeated the word “you will take” once more. The idea was that Moses should not take the water from the river by means of some container, but directly by hand.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:9:2
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:9:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/4:9:2)

**והיו.**פעם שנית פירש"י ללמד שלא היו לדם עד שהיו ביבשה. והרמב"ן כתב א"צ לזה שכן דרך המקרא לכפול תיבות ולחזק או בעבור מיצוע ארוך שביניהם כמו והי' ערכך מבן עשרים שנה ועד בן ששים שנה והי' ערכך כסף חמשים שקלים: בשני אותות הראשונים חזרו לכמות שהיו ובאות המים לא חזרו לכמות שהי' רמז לו שלא ימחול לו במה שיחטא על המים:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
והיו, “they will be (remain).” Why has this word והיו been repeated? According to *Rashi* this means that the waters in question will not turn into blood until poured on the dry land.
 Nachmanides writes that there is no need for this explanation in order to justify the repeated use of the word והיו, as it is part of the usual syntax of the Torah to repeat certain words whenever the Torah wants to emphasise a point, or when there is a lengthy interval between the legislation becoming applicable and its being carried out in practice. A case in point is Leviticus 27,3 where the Torah repeats the words והיה ערכך. [you will note there that when the Torah speaks about shorter time frames such as ages between a month and five years, or five years and 20 years, instead of a time frame between 20-60 years, the words והיה ערכך are not repeated. Ed.] The first two miracles were temporary phenomena, the natural state of events being restored in short order. The water which Moses poured on the ground and which turned into blood, never reverted to becoming water; hence the words והיו לדם the second time would be aptly translated as “they will turn into blood permanently”.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:10:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:10:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/4:10:1)

**גם מתמול גם משלשום.**למדנו שכל ז' הימים הי' הקב"ה מפתהו. ועל דרך הפשט אמר אני כבד פה גם מתמול פי' מנעורי אני כבד פה ואף כי עתה שאני זקן וגם מאז דברך אל עבדיך שציויתנו לילך בשליחותך לדבר לפני מלכים ואיך אדבר עמו בכבידות ויתחלל שם שמים כי יאמר אילו היית שלוחו למה לא תיקן לשונך ומשה מרוב חפצו שלא הי' רוצה לילך לא התפלל שיסיר ממנו כבדות פה אלא טען שלא הי' ראוי לילך כיון שהי כבד פה והקב"ה לא רצה לרפאתו כיון שלא התפלל לו אלא אמר לו שילך והוא יהי' עם פיהו שידבר נכוחות לפני פרעה והנה הי' הנס כפול שהי' כבד פה ובדברו לפני פרעה היו דבריו נכוחים. י"מ שלא רפאהו בשביל שהי' ערלת פיו ע"י נס שאירע לו עם פרעה כאשר אמרו רבותינו. וי"מ שזה הי' חרון אף שחרה בו שלא רצה לרפאתו ושלחו בעל כרחו שאלמלא השיבו שלח נא ביד תשלח הי' מרפאהו:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
גם מתמול גם משלשום, “not since yesterday nor since the day before.” We learn from all this that G’d spent seven days trying to convince Moses to accept the mission voluntarily. 
 Looking at the plain text and trying to understand the relevance of Moses’ remarks, (as if G’d were not aware of his speech defect as well as his not being an orator), Moses argued that seeing that the people know that I have had this speech defect since youth, they will be astounded that You have not first fixed this, but have sent a prophet who suffers from such a blemish. Would not Pharaoh consider it an insult to have to deal with someone like me who suffers from such a blemish? Seeing that Moses, basically, did not wish to assume the burden of leadership at all, he did not pray to G’d to heal his speech defect. He contented himself with saying that someone with a blemish such as he suffered from was not likely to be the most suitable candidate for the task proposed by G’d. G’d, for His part, did not want to heal his speech defect precisely because he had not prayed to Him to do this. He simply told him to go and fulfill his mission, and that He would come to his aid whenever required. Whatever he would be saying to Pharaoh would come out of his mouth clear without Pharaoh ever becoming aware of the fact that 
 he suffered from any speech defect. Moses therefore experienced a double miracle in that whenever he faced Pharaoh he could suddenly speak normally, without there being even a trace of his usual handicap. Both what he said an how he said it sounded complexly normal. 
 Some commentators attribute Moses’ speech defect to the well known story in the *Midrash,* according to which Moses’ life was spared on account of something which led to his speech defect. He was suspected by the astrologers of becoming the redeemer of the Jews, and when, as a two year old, he was put to the test, being given the choice of grabbing for the king’s crown or for glowing coals, he grabbed for the latter and put them to his mouth when an angel had given him a push in that direction. Seeing that his very speech defect, in a manner of speaking, had been his “life saver,” it would have been inappropriate to reverse this “defect.”
 Some commentators do not agree that G’d healed Moses’ speech defect at all, even when he used to stand before Pharaoh, but that G’d might have done so if Moses had not used it as an excuse not to do His bidding. As it were, G’d expressed His displeasure by not healing Moses of this defect.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:11:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:11:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/4:11:1)

**מי שם פה לאדם.**פי' הדיבור בעבור היותו בפה קורהו פה:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
מי שם פה לאדם?, “Who has equipped man with a mouth?” The Torah refers to the mouth here as an instrument of formulating speech.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:11:2
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:11:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/4:11:2)

**או מי ישום אלם.**חוזר על האדם מי ישום לאדם אלם והאלמות לא ישים בו כי איננו דבר אלא הוא העדר הדיבור ואולי בשביל שיש לאדם נפש מדברת והאלמים בהיות להם אוטם בגיד הלשון יאלמו יתכן לומר מי ישום באלמות. ואלם הוא הפכו של פה ופקח הוא הפכו של עור וחרש כי הוא נאמר על האזנים ועל העינים כדכתיב לפקוח עינים פקוח אזנים והי' לו להקדים פקח לחרש כמו שהקדים פה לאלם אלא כתב פקח בין חרש לעור משום ששייך פקיחה בשניהם כדפרישית. וי"מ מי שם פה לאדם וכי לא הייתי יודע שאתה כבד פה והלא אני עשיתיך למה לך להזכיר זה לפני:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
או מי ישום אלם?, “or Who makes (man) dumb?” The verb ישום, refers back to the word אדם in the first half of our verse. G’d does not “make“ man dumb, as dumbness is the lack of something, something similar to “nothing,” in the sense that it did not require to be created or refined. If the Torah, nonetheless, created the impression as if G’d had made some people “dumb,” perhaps the reason is that man is considered a נפש מדברת, “a personality equipped with the power of speech.” When one encounters a human being who lacks this power, one assumes that someone, i.e. Gd, had locked the power of expressing itself within that personality, and had made him dumb. The word אלם is the opposite of the word פה, mouth, just as the word פקח is the opposite of the word עור, blind; and the word חרש describes someone not equipped with the sense of hearing. Seeing that the word פקח can be applied to both eyes and ears, describing a lack of perceptive powers of the eyes or ears, we encounter such expression as לפקוח עינים,עינים פקוחות , i.e. “to open one’s eyes”, or “open eyes”, as otherwise we could not be certain in which mode the word פקח was being used at the time.
 Some commentators view the line מי שם פה simply as a rebuke to Moses, G’d saying: “did you really think that I was unaware that you had a speech impediment?” Surely, seeing that I have made you, you need not remind Me of such matters!”


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:13:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:13:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/4:13:1)

**שלח נא ביד תשלח.**תרגם אונקלוס ביד מאן דכשר למשלח ורוצה לומר ביד מי שרוצה שידבר צחות כי אע"פ שאמרת שתהי' עם דברי בדברי לפני פרעה אעפ"כ אינו דרך כבוד להיות שלוחך ערל שפתים כי ישמעו כלם בדברו עם המלך ויהי' זה גרעון בעיניהם ומשה כל הימים שהי' הקב"ה מפתהו ללכת הי' ממתין אולי יתקן כבד פיו וכשראה שלא תיקן אז אמר שלח נא ביד תשלח. והרמב"ן פי' שלח נא ביד תשלח פי' תשלח ביד כל אשר תשלח כי אין בעולם אדם שלא יהי' הגון יותר ממני והכל לפי רוב ענותנותו הי' בורח מן השליחות שלא יטול שררה לדבר לפני המלך ולהשתרר על ישראל. וי"מ שלח נא ביד תשלח אני כבד פה שלח נא ביד פי' כתב שאוליך בידי. וי"מ בשביל שאמר לו ולא יתן אתכם להלוך ולא ביד חזקה על כן אמר משה שלח לו עתה מיד כאשר אמר לו לשלוח לבסוף:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
שלח נא ביד תשלח, “please my Lord, send through whomever You will send!” According to Onkelos, Moses referred to people whom G’d had used in the past as His messengers, and who had a record as being fit for such errands. He implies that among those there were people who were quite willing to be G’d’s spokesmen as well as being spokesmen of the people, people who also possessed the gift of oratory. He meant that even though G’d had assured him that He would be at his side every step of the way, it was not fitting for the representative of G’d to be a person who was afflicted with such a blemish as he was afflicted with.
 During all the time that Moses had been debating with G’d about whether to accept this assignment, he had been secretly hoping that perhaps G’d would cure him of his affliction, and this would be a sign that he would indeed be able to carry out his assignment successfully. When he had become convinced that this would not happen, he had suggested to G’d to send someone else.
 Nachmanides understands the words שלח נא ביד תשלח, as meaning that G’d should send anyone else in preference to himself, seeing that no one on earth could be as unsuitable for this task as he was. Moses’ refusal to accept the position of leadership was motivated exclusively by his exceptional modesty and humility. Some understand the comment by Moses, as if he told G’d: “seeing that I am not fit to deliver oral messages due to my handicap, let me present my case by letter, i.e. provide me with a written document to submit to Pharaoh, outlining our case for being released from bondage.”


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:14:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:14:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/4:14:1)

**ידעתי כי דבר ידבר.**פי' ידעתי כי ידבר בעבורך כרצונו אף אם לא צויתיו וגם הוא מעצמו יוצא לקראתיך וראך ושמח בלבו ולא יקנא למעלתך ומה שהוצרך לומר לו לך לקראת משה המדברה בעבור כי הודיעו הדרך אשר יבוא בו. ויתכן ששמע אהרן בצאת משה ממדין ויצא מעצמו לקראתו ואחרי כן נאמר לו לך לקראת משה המדברה ושם תמצאנו:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ידעתי כי דבר ידבר, “I know that he is a fluent orator.” This means that G’d tells Moses that He is aware that Aaron is willing to act as his mouthpiece even without being commanded by G’d to do so. As proof of Aaron’s helpful attitude, He tells Moses that he is on his way to meet his younger brother, not harbouring any resentment that his younger brother has been chosen for such a fateful mission. The only reason G’d had to tell him to meet Moses in the desert was to inform him of where in the desert he would find his brother.
 It is also possible that Aaron had heard that Moses had left Midian and that he had gone forth to meet him without even having received any instruction from G’d on the subject. Once Aaron had been on the way, G’d gave him directions where to meet Moses.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:15:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:15:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/4:15:1)

**ואנכי אהיה עם פיך.**להורותיך את אשר תדבר אל פרעה כי עתה לא אמר שידבר אהרן בעבורו רק אל העם כמו שנאמר ודבר הוא לך אל העם אבל לפרעה משה ידבר. ויתכן שהי' זה לכבוד המלכות ובסוף אמר משה הן אני ערל שפתים ואיך ישמע אלי פרעה וניתן לו רשות שלא ידבר גם לפרעה והוא מעלה למשה לכך נאמר נתתיך אלהים לפרעה ואהרן אחיך יהי' נביאך:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ואנכי אהיה עם פיך, “and I shall be with your mouth, etc.” I shall give you precise instructions what to say to Pharaoh. At this point, G’d did not say that Aaron would speak on his behalf. Aaron would only speak on Moses’ behalf to the people, not to Pharaoh. We know this from verse 16 ודבר הוא אל העם, that it would be Aaron’s task to address the people, but the people would know that he was the “mouthpiece.” The word נביאך, means that just as a prophet is G’d’s mouthpiece, so Aaron will now become Moses’ mouthpiece. It is possible that this arrangement was out of the desire to show deference to the Egyptian establishment, in particular Pharaoh personally, who might be insulted if he received the word of G’d not even through his prophet but through the prophet’s mouthpiece. In spite of these considerations, in the end, Moses queried that the chances of Pharaoh paying heed to a stammerer such as he, was too much to expect.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:16:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:16:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/4:16:1)

**ודבר הוא לך אל העם.**כתב ר' אברהם אין זה גרעון למשה רק מעלה גדולה כי אהרן דומה לפה שיוציא דיבור הנשמה שאינה נראית כמו המלאכים שאינן נראין כי אינן גוף והוא מדמה משה למעלת המלאך ואתה תהי' לו לאלהים והנה אלהים בכל המקרא רק השם הנכבד או מלאכיו הקדושים כי על ידם יראו מעשה השם בארץ וכל אלהים שהוא ע"ז דיבר הכתיב כנגד מחשבת העובדי':

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ודבר הוא לך אל העם, “and he will speak on your behalf to the people;” Ibn Ezra writes that this was not a demotion of some kind for Moses, but the very reverse. Aaron’s role in this is to be compared to the role of the mouth of a person which represents the thoughts of that person’s soul. The soul, by definition, is not visible, just as the angels are not visible, seeing they have no body. Moses therefore had been elevated to the stature of an angel by having Aaron as his interpreter. This is how we can understand G’d saying that Moses would be to Aaron similar to אלוקים. The word אלוקים throughout Scripture is a name symbolizing the majesty of G’d or that of His holy angels. The angels are the ones who familiarize us with what G’d is doing at certain times during our history. At any rate, Aaron, far from being demoted to being a mere “mouthpiece,” had been promoted to reveal the invisible thoughts of Moses, i.e. of what G’d had communicated to him.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:17:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:17:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/4:17:1)

**אשר תעשה בו את האותות.**עדיין לא נאמר לו לעשות בו רק אות אחת אלא פי' האותות אשר אומר לך. ויראה כי כאשר אמר לו בכל נפלאותי אשר אעשה בקרבו הודיעו בפרט אבל הכתוב מקצר וזה טעם אשר תעשה בו האותות:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
אשר תעשה בו את האותות, “by means of which you will perform the miracles.” Although at this time, Moses had been instructed only to perform a single miracle, i.e. אות, not אותות, it was a hint to Moses that there would be a need for further demonstrations of G’d’s power. You will recall that G’d had spoken of כל נפלאותי, “all My miracles,” already in Here the Torah is somewhat more specific than in the previous chapter. This is why here the Torah adds: אשר תעשה בו את האותות, with which you will perform the miracles, (pl.}


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:19:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:19:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/4:19:1)

**ויאמר ה' אל משה במדין.**אמר רבי אברהם אין מוקדם ומאוחר בתורה ופי' וכבר אמר לו. וכתב הרמב"ן ואין דבריו נכונים כי הדיבור הראשון לא הי' במדין רק בהר סיני ובמדין לא דיבר עמו רק הפעם הזאת אלא אפשר קיבל משה ללכת בדבר ה' וחזר למדין ליטול רשות מחותנו והי' סבור ללכת יחידי מתנכר לכך אמר לו אלכה ואראה את אחי אשר במצרים העודם חיים דרך ביקור כאומר אראה אם עודם חיים ואשוב ואז אמר לו השם במדין שוב מצרימה ולא תפחד כי מתו כל האנשים המבקשים רעתך ותהי' שם עמהם עד שתוציאם משם ולכן לקח אשתו ובניו כי הי' זה עצה נכונה להוליכם עמו כי בעבור זה יבטחו בו בני ישראל יותר כי בהיותו במדין בן חורין יושב בביתו בשלום עם אשתו ובניו חתן כהן הארץ לא יביא אותם להיות עבדים אם לא שיהא בטוח שיצאו בקרוב ויעלה עמהם לארץ כנען ולא יצטרך בצאתם לשוב למדין לקחת אשתו ובניו משם:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ויאמר ה' אל משה במדין, “the Lord said to Moses in Midian, etc.” Ibn Ezra reminds us that the Torah is not bound to narrate events in the order in which they occurred, and that what G’d is now reported as having told Moses, He had told him already on a previous occasion. 
 Nachmanides disagrees with Ibn Ezra, saying that G’d’s first communication to Moses did not take place in Midian but at Mount Sinai (Mt. Chorev). According to him, G’d spoke with Moses only on this occasion while Moses was in Midian. It is possible that once Moses had reluctantly agreed to assume the mission G’d wanted him to perform, he returned once more to Midian to obtain his father-in-law’s permission to return to Egypt. It was his intention to do so incognito. This is when G’d told him that there was no reason for this, as all the people who had sought his death had long since died. This message came to him while he was still in Midian. G’d made it clear to him that he should remain in Egypt until the redemption, the Exodus. This is why Moses took his family with him at that stage. It appeared to be a logical move as it would show the Israelites that he was convinced that the redemption was near, otherwise he would have left his family behind in Midian where they were safe and comfortable.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:19:2
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:19:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/4:19:2)

**כי מתו כל האנשים.**פירש"י זה דתן ואבירם שהיו חיים אלא שירדו מנכסיהם דליכא למימר שהיו מצורעין שהרי היו במחנה וליכא למימר נמי שהיו סומין דהא כתיב את עיני האנשים ההם תנקר וליכא למימר נמי שלא הי' להם בנים דהא כתיב יצאו נצבים הם ובניהם וטפם. ומיהו קשה למה היו שניהם מבקשים נפשו הלא לא הוכיח אלא האחד שאמר לו למה תכה רעך ואדרבא ביקש להציל השני ועוד אפי' אם ירדו מנכסיהון עדיין יכולים להרע לו להלשין עליו לפרעה. ולפי הפשט בישרו על מיתת פרעה דכתיב וימת מלך מצרים:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
כי מתו כל האנשים, “for all the people have died, etc.” according to *Rashi* the words כל האנשים refer to Datan and Aviram, the two men who had told Pharaoh about his slaying the Egyptian. How could G’d describe them as “having died,” when during the uprising of Korach a couple of years later, they were very much alive and ringleaders in that rebellion? The answer is that whereas at the time the incident with the Egyptian occurred these two men were among the wealthiest Jews in Egypt, so that what they said carried weight, in the meantime both had become paupers so that their influence was nil, no more than that of dead people. Sometimes people afflicted with the dreaded disease *tzoraat* are described as “dead,” as they are isolated beyond contact with society, but this was not the case with Datan and Aviram, whose posture in Numbers 16 shows them a) to have resided within the camp, and b) to have had good eyesight. C) They could not even have been described as “dead” because they had no children, as the Torah describes their challenging Moses brazenly together with their wives and children (Numbers 16,27).
 However, it is difficult to understand why both of these men should have wanted Moses dead, seeing he had saved the life of one of them by his interference in their quarrel? Besides, granted that both men had become paupers, how did this prevent them from being a threat to Moses’ life? They could still act as informers to Pharaoh? 
 According to the plain meaning of the text, G’d informed Moses that the one who had ever been a real threat to him, i.e. Pharaoh, had died physically.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:20:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:20:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/4:20:1)

**ויקח את אשתו ואת בניו.**כמו ובני פלוא אליאב כי לא הי' לו רק גרשום ואליעזר נתעברה ממנו בדרך או במצרים אשר הלכה שם ויתכן שקודם הדיבור שהי' לו בהר האלהים נולד גרשום והיתה צפורה הרה וכאשר שב אל יתר חותנו ילדה ובעבור כי הי' נחוץ לדרכו לא מל אותו ולא קרא לו שם ובדרך כאשר מלה אותו אמו לא קראה לו שם כי משה הי' נפגש מהמלאך ואחרי לכתו למצרים וראה שניצול מכל המבקשים את נפשו קרא לו אליעזר על שם ויצילני מחרב פרעה:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ויקח משה את אשתו ואת בניו, “he took his wife and his sons, etc.” This verse is similar to Numbers 26,8 ובני פלוא אליאב, “and the sons of Phalu were Eliav. Even though Phalu is reported as having had only the one son, the Torah uses the plural mode ובני, when referring to this. Similarly, here. At this time Moses had only one son, Gershom. Tzippporah who had been pregnant with Eliezer at that time gave birth to him on the way, as becomes clear in verse 24 of our chapter. It is possible that before G’d had spoken to Moses at Mount Chorev, Tzipporah had born Gershom, and that she had again become pregnant. When Moses returned to Yitro from the desert Eliezer had just been born. Seeing that Moses was anxious to be on his way, he had not yet circumcised his new born son, so that his mother had not yet named the baby. She did not name him right after she had circumcised him, being not yet sure whether Moses would survive his encounter with the angel who had tried to harm him. It was only after Moses arrived safely in Egypt and realized that he had indeed been saved from all those who had wanted to kill him, that he named the baby with a name which reflected his gratitude to G’d for having saved him from all this.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:20:2
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:20:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/4:20:2)

**וירכיבם על החמור.**הזכיר המין כי איפשר שהיו לו חמורים הרבה לרכוב עליהם היא ובניה:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
וירכיבם על החמור, “he made them ride on the donkey.” The Torah specifies that it was a donkey, not a camel or some other animal used to ride on; perhaps because he had a number of animals to choose from for his wife and children to ride on.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:20:3
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:20:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/4:20:3)

**וישב ארצה מצרים.**כתב הרמב"ן הנזכרים למעלה שהם אשתו ובניו. ור' אברהם כתב וישב מצרימה כי הוא לבדו שב מצרימה כי כאשר פגש השם למשה נימול אליעזר ובהתרפאו שבה צפורה אל אבי' עם בני'. ויתכן זה כי בעבור שהי' נימול אליעזר לא הי' יכול להביאו בדרך עד שיחזק הילד ולא רצה לעכב שליחות של הקב"ה ולכך עזבם במלון וציותה לשוב אל בית אבי' בהתרפאותו וזהו שנאמר אחר שילוחי'. וגם איפשר שהלכו למצרים וכאשר נתעכב שם נכספה אל בית אבי' ושלחה עם הבנים וזהו אחר שילוחי' כי פחד יתרו שהי' דעתו לגרשה:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
וישב ארצה מצרימה, “he returned in the direction of the land of Egypt.” According to Nachmanides, even though the Torah uses the singular mode וישב, what are meant are Moses and his family.
 Ibn Ezra writes that the reason why the Torah used the singular mode is that though Moses had intended to bring his family with him to Egypt; he changed his mind after his encounter with the angel and the circumcision, after which, in the interest of the baby’s recovery from that procedure, Tzipporah decided the return to her father’s home for a while. Moses had not wanted to delay beginning his mission while waiting for his son to recover. It is also possible that they all went to Egypt together, and that when it became evident that the redemption of the Israelites was still some time in the future, Tzipporah, who had pined for her father’s home, returned there pending the Exodus becoming reality.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:21:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:21:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/4:21:1)

**ויאמר ה' אל משה בלכתך לשוב מצרימה.**כתב ר' אברהם כי זה נאמר לו במדין ואמר לו ראה כל המופתים וגומ' להודיעו כי יחזק את לבו ולא ישלחם בעבור המופתים שיראה עד המופת האחרון עד שתאמר לו הנה אנכי הורג את בנך בכורך ואז ישלחם. וכתב הרמב"ן ואין זה נכון כי מה טעם בלכתך לשוב מצרימה ראה אלא פירושו כאשר לקח מטה האלהים ללכת למצרים הזהירו ואמר לו תעשה כל המופתים אף כי יחזק לבו ולא ישמע אל דבריך אתה אל תפל דבר מכל אשר דברתי ומה שאמרתי לך ואל תתיאש מלעשותם בשביל שלא ישמע לך ועוד הזהירו במכה האחרונה אשר בה ישלחם ופי' שמתי בידך שבידך שמתי אותם שתעשה אותם אתה ולא אחר שכבר הודיעו שיעשה אותות ומופתים רבים כמו שאמר לו בכל נפלאותי אשר אעשה בקרבו וכל זה לזרזו בעבור שהי' מוכרח בשליחות בשביל זה הזהירו קודם מעשה וציוהו בשעת מעשה על כל מופת ומופת. ויתכן שיהי' ואמרת אל פרעה ידיעה שציוהו לאמר לו כן בסוף שאמר לו אני אחזק לבו ולא ישלח את העם בכל המופתים ואמרת אליו ביום ההוא הנה אנכי הורג את בנך בכורך ואז ישלחם כי לא מצינו שהודיעו מכת בכורות רק בעת ההיא. וי"ל עוד שעל שלשת המופתים אשר אמר לו לעשותם לפני ישראל אמר לו שיעשם גם לפני פרעה כדי שידע פרעה שמה שזקני ישראל מבקשים שעל פי ה' הוא ולא יעליל עליהם וכן עשה משה אע"פ שלא נכתב. ואשר אמר עוד כי ידבר אליכם פרעה תנו לכם מופת כי ירצ' מופ' לו וציוה למטה שיהי' לתנין ולא לנחש כאש' הי' בפעם הראשון והראה לו שיבלע מטה אהרן את מטותם להודיעם שינצחם. ובמדרש שמות רבה יש וכי על אי זה מופתים אמר לו על נחש וצרעת והדם לא ציוהו לעשותם אלא לפני ישראל ולא מצינו שעשאם לפני פרעה אלא מהו כל המופתים אשר שמתי בידך זה המטה שהיו חקוקים בו. דצ"ך. עד"ש. באח"ב. ולפי זה יהי' פי' הפסוק ראה שמתי בידך ראה והסתכל במטה אשר שמתי בידך שכל המופתים שבו תעשה לפני פרעה:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ויאמר ה' אל משה בלכתך לשוב מצרימה, “The Lord said to Moses: ‘when you are on the way to return to Egypt, etc’.”
 According to Ibn Ezra what follows was said to Moses while he had still been in Midian. G’d told him that in spite of all the miracles He had provided Moses with to perform in Egypt, that He, G’d, had made Pharaoh’s heart strong so that he would not discharge the Israelites from serving him on account of the miracles Moses would perform. This would only occur as a result of the final miracle when, after being told that G’d would kill all the firstborn Egyptians including Pharaoh’s own firstborn, he would capitulate
 Nachmanides writes that Ibn Ezra’s description of events is not correct, for if it were, why did the Torah write the line בלכתך לשוב מצרימה ראה, “when you are on the way to return to Egypt, see!” Rather, the true meaning of the verse is that when Moses had already taken his staff and was about to set out on his return journey to Egypt, G’d warned Moses to perform all the miracles in spite of the fact that Pharaoh would not be sufficiently impressed by them to let the Israelites depart. The way things would develop would be that while Moses was doing “his thing,” i.e. what G’d had empowered him to do, and while Pharaoh, on the other hand, would do “his thing,” Moses was not to become discouraged. He warned him further that when it would come to the final plague when he would warn Pharaoh that G’d would strike dead his own firstborn son, Pharaoh would capitulate. The words אשר שמתי בידך, “which I have placed at your disposal,” mean that G’d had provided only Moses exclusively with the power to perform all these miracles. He gave Moses a review of how things would develop in order to encourage him to proceed with appropriate dispatch. Subsequently, he would receive detailed instructions concerning each of the miracles, i.e. each of the plagues.
 It is also possible that the words ואמרת אל פרעה וגו' are instructions to Moses concerning the 10th and final plague, when he would warn Pharaoh of G’d killing his firstborn son. Whereas with the other plagues the Torah reports G’d instructing Moses, and Moses then carrying out the instruction, we do not find G’d issuing any instructions there to Moses before he proceeded to announce the forthcoming plague to Pharaoh, (Exodus 11,4)
 It is also possible that G’d instructed Moses here to perform the same three miracles before Pharaoh that He had already instructed him to perform before the Israelites. This was in order that Pharaoh should realize that the only reason that the elders of the Israelites had requested what they did, was because G’d had sent them Moses who had performed these miracles for them in order to identify himself as their redeemer. Pharaoh would therefore have no reason to fault the elders of Israel for their request. Moses acted in this fashion although the Torah had not bothered to spell this out.
 Concerning the fact that the Torah also wrote “when Pharaoh will say to you that you should legitimize yourselves by means of a miracle” (7,9), and that He commanded Moses to turn the staff into a sea monster instead of into a serpent, as he had done before the Israelites, and that he showed Pharaoh that Aaron’s staff would swallow those of his magicians, this was a hint that He would overpower the magicians.
 In the *Midrash* Shemot *Rabbah* (5,6) we are told that in the event that someone were to claim that the miracles of blood, *tzoraat*, and the staff turning into a snake, that these had been performed only before the Israelites and not before Pharaoh, the Torah adds the word ראה, that G’d told Moses to look at the letters ד'צך ע'דש ב'אחב the respective first letters of each plague, letters which were engraved on the staff in order to confirm that all these plagues, i.e. miracles, would be performed in the presence of Pharaoh.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:24:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:24:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/4:24:1)

**ויפגשהו ה'.**על שנתעסק במלון תחלה ולא מל אליעזר אע"פ שעדיין הי' בדרך אעפ"כ הי' איפשר לו למולו כי כבר קרוב הי' למצרים. וי"מ דלכך נענש דכשהגיע למלון קרוב למצרים אמרה צפורה אעכב כאן ואלכה עם ישראל כי היתה סבורה שמיד יצאו והי' בדעתו להניחה שם וכיון שהי' דעתו להניחה שם הי' לו להתעסק במילה. וי"מ דלכך נענש שהי' לו למולו מיד ולא יוליכנו עמו בדרך אלא יניחנו עם אמו ומה שלא מל עד עתה איפשר שלא נולד עד עתה. וי"מ לפי שהתנה עם יתרו שלא למול החצי מן הנולדים לו לא הי' רשאי למולו בביתו:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ויפגשהו ה', “the Lord encountered him;” as a rebuke for having concerned himself with private concerns at the inn, instead of first performing the circumcision on his son Eliezer. The excuse that he was on the way and that the circumstances were such that circumcision would place the life of the infant in danger, did no longer apply as the inn in question was already close to Egypt, not in the desert
 Some commentators claim that because this was close to Egypt, Tzipporah suggested that she should await the Exodus of the people of Israel while remaining at the inn, and join the Israelites on their way to the Holy Land from there. Moses entertained the thought to leave her there. Seeing that he considered the place safe enough to leave his wife and children there, he had no excuse not to immediately perform the circumcision.
 Still other commentators claim that he was punished because he should have circumcised Eliezer while still in Midian and not have taken Tzipporah and her children with him at all at that time. Still another view holds that this was the punishment for Moses having agreed with Yitro at the time he married Tzipporah that he would leave half of the children born to him uncircumcised. As a result, he was not at liberty to perform circumcision on his second son in Yitro’s house.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:25:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:25:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/4:25:1)

**ותקח צפורה צור.**פי' איזמל כמו חרבות צורים דמתרגמינן איזמלין וכן חרבות צורים:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ותקח צפורה צור, “Tzipporah took hold of a sharp edged piece of stone, etc.” she took a kind of chisel, the same kind as has been described in the Book of Joshua (5,3) as חרבות צורים, the instrument used by Joshua when he circumcised all the Jews that had been born since the Jews had left Egypt who had not been circumcised in the desert because the climactic conditions would have posed a threat to the lives of the infants.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:25:2
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:25:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/4:25:2)

**ותכרת את ערלת בנה.**ומשה לא מלו כי הי' נפגש על ידי המלאך וזה מוכח כמ"ד ויבקש המיתו קאי על משה דאי למ"ד על הנער קאי למה לא מלו משה:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ותכרות את ערלת בנה, “she cut off the foreskin of her son.” Moses did not circumcise him as the angel had incapacitated him. This is the meaning of the words ויבקש להמיתו, “he tried to kill him.” If these words referred to the infant, as some believe, why would not Moses have circumcised his son himself instead of his wife performing this task?


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:25:3
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:25:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/4:25:3)

**ותאמר כי חתן דמים אתה לי.**פי' אמרה לנער על ידך הי' חתני נהרג ושוב שהרף ממנו אז אמרה מה שאמרתי חתן דמים לא על שפיכת דם בעלי אלא על המילה. וי"מ שאמרה למשה חתן דמים אתה לי לפי שאתה שנתחתנת בי לפי שאני מדינית ואיני ראוי' לך וכשראתה שהרף ממנו אז אמרה לא הי' אלא על דבר המילה:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
ותאמר כי חתן דמים אתה לי, “she said: ‘you caused my bridegroom’s bloodshed.’” Tzipporah’s remarks were addressed to her young son. She blamed him for causing Moses’ death, had she not intervened. When the angel released Moses she changed the meaning of what she had said first to mean that her infant’s blood, (the blood of the circumcision) had made him a bridegroom of blood. [she had acquired the child at the cost of some of his blood. Ed.]
 Some commentators claim that Tzipporah’s comment was addressed to Moses, i.e. that she felt the angel’s threatening to kill Moses was part of the punishment for his having married a Midianite woman. In other words, she felt that she had acquired her bridegroom at the possible cost of her bridegroom’s life. When the angel released Moses, she realized that the problem had not been her marriage to Moses but the failure to circumcise her son on time.


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:27:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:27:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/4:27:1)

**וישק לו.**פי' אהרן למשה כי משה העניו נהג כבוד באחיו הגדול ממנו ולכך לא אמר וישקו איש אל אחיו:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
וישק לו, “he kissed him.” Aaron kissed Moses. Seeing that Moses was so humble, it would have been unseemly for him to take the initiative by kissing his senior brother. This accounts for the fact that contrary to similar encounters reported elsewhere, the Torah did not write “they kissed one another”). (compare Samuel I 20,41)


###### Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:28:1
[Tur HaArokh, Exodus 4:28:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Tur%20HaArokh/s/Exodus/r/4:28:1)

**את כל דברי ה'.**מלמד שהגיד לו כל הדברי' שהי' ביניהם האיך היה מסרב בזה השליחות וכי הוא שליח בעל כרחו:

**Sefaria Community Translation:**
את כל דברי ה', “all the words of the Lord.” He explained to Aaron that he had repeatedly refused the mission G’d wanted him to carry out, and that in the end he had accepted the task only under duress.